Courage is an apostolate of the Roman Catholic Church that provides spiritual support for men and women with same-sex attractions who desire to develop lives of interior chastity in union with Christ.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Lenten Reflection on Loneliness

by Fr. A. R. Arboleda, SSP

In its most severe form, loneliness can drive a person to real panic and even to insanity or suicide. In its milder form, loneliness can be felt as nothing more than the vague feeling of being unloved and unwanted, the feeling of not belonging. In both cases, loneliness is something everyone has to grapple with at one time or another. Loneliness is a chronic pain in the neck that comes with being alive and being an individual.

When God created Adam, even if he was already in the garden of Eden, he still said, “It is not good for man to be alone.” What surprises us is that instead of taking away Adam’s loneliness, God created Eve and gave her to Adam to be his partner.

Loneliness, in spite of the terrible feelings that come with it, is still a gift of God. At worst, it is the price we human beings pay for our capacity to think, to reflect, to be aware of our own uniqueness and limitations. At best, loneliness is the other side of our capacity to give and receive love, something that makes us resemble God. If, alone, I should not feel lonely, would I ever reach out to others in love?

Whenever I feel lonely, I try not to ask why anymore, for I know it is part of my being human. I ask, instead, what I may have done to make myself feel isolated, walled-in and alienated from the others. In fact, loneliness comes during those moments of isolation, when around me I have built an invisible wall, perhaps after I have been hurt by others. The same wall protects me from getting hurt again; but, alas, it also imprisons me.

Psychologists say that loneliness is part of our being human because, they say, we are relational by nature. Which means that each of us is not meant to remain an “I” forever. Loneliness urges us to find the “You,” reach out, and, together, form a “We.” Loneliness disappears as soon as we experience a “We-ness” with others.

Mystics, however, say that we experience loneliness because we have been created in the image of likeness of God who is Three Persons. They add that the experience of loneliness is both a prod for us to search for communion with the Trinitarian God through our faith and adherence to the Person of Jesus. It is also an invitation towards establishing community or communion with our fellow human beings.

Courage Community

Vision

A community of persons with same sex concerns, empowered in facing their condition, accepted and respected by society.

Mission

The group is inspired by Christ to live chaste lives in accordance with the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.

Five Goals of Courage

1.CHASTITY– Live chaste lives in accordance with the Roman Catholic Church’s teaching on homosexuality.

2.PRAYER AND DEDICATION – Dedicate one’s life to Christ through service to others, spiritual reading, prayer, meditation, individual spiritual direction, frequent attendance at Mass, and the frequent reception of the sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Eucharist.

3.FELLOWSHIP – Foster a spirit of fellowship in which all may share thoughts and experiences, and so ensure that no one will have to face the problems of homosexuality alone.

4.SUPPORT – Be mindful of the truth that chaste friendships are not only possible but necessary in a chaste Christian life, and in doing so provide encouragement to one another in forming and sustaining them.

5.GOOD EXAMPLE – Live lives that may serve as good examples to others.

Portraits of Courage

For the first time, the members of Courage step from the shadows of anonymity to face the camera. In thisPortraits of Couragepresentation which includes Part I - Into The Light (3-part videos)and Part II - Cry of the Faithful (3-part videos), they reveal their struggles with homosexuality and the amazing grace of chastity within Courage.

Understand the Catholic Church's controversial teaching on homosexuality from the first person singular. With unsparing honesty, the men and women of Courage bring together the truth and compassion of the Church's timeless wisdom.